Waimangu Geyser
Encyclopedia
The Waimangu Geyser, located near Rotorua
in New Zealand
, was the most powerful geyser
in the world. Its workings were apparently created by the great 1886 Mount Tarawera
eruption, which opened a 14km-long (8.75 miles) fissure down the mountain and through Lake Rotomahana
.
The geyser was first seen erupting in 1900. Its eruptions were observed reaching up to 460 metres (1,500 ft) in height, and it excited worldwide interest. As a result of a landslide
which changed the water table
, the geyser became extinct on November 1, 1904.
The water expelled by the geyser was black with rocks and mud from the surrounding terrain, so the indigenous Māori people named the geyser Waimangu, meaning 'Black Waters'. The geyser gave its name to the surrounding geothermal region, the Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley
.
On August 31, 1903, four tourists (sisters Ruby and Catherine Nicholls, David McNaughton and Joseph Warbrick) were killed after ignoring repeated instructions from guide Alfred Warbrick (brother of Joseph) to return to a safe distance, after venturing dangerously close to the edge of the geyser. All four were swept away in a sudden violent eruption.
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, was the most powerful geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
in the world. Its workings were apparently created by the great 1886 Mount Tarawera
Mount Tarawera
Mount Tarawera is the volcano responsible for New Zealand's largest historic eruption. Located 24 kilometres southeast of Rotorua in the North Island, it consists of a series of rhyolitic lava domes that were fissured down the middle by an explosive basaltic eruption in 1886, which killed over...
eruption, which opened a 14km-long (8.75 miles) fissure down the mountain and through Lake Rotomahana
Lake Rotomahana
Lake Rotomahana is an lake in northern New Zealand, located 25 kilometres to the east of Rotorua. It is immediately southwest of the dormant volcano Mount Tarawera, and its geography was substantially altered by a major 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera...
.
The geyser was first seen erupting in 1900. Its eruptions were observed reaching up to 460 metres (1,500 ft) in height, and it excited worldwide interest. As a result of a landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
which changed the water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
, the geyser became extinct on November 1, 1904.
The water expelled by the geyser was black with rocks and mud from the surrounding terrain, so the indigenous Māori people named the geyser Waimangu, meaning 'Black Waters'. The geyser gave its name to the surrounding geothermal region, the Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley
Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley
Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley is the hydrothermal system created on 10 June 1886 by the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera, on the North Island of New Zealand. It encompasses Lake Rotomahana, the former site of the Pink and White Terraces. It was the location of the Waimangu Geyser, which was...
.
On August 31, 1903, four tourists (sisters Ruby and Catherine Nicholls, David McNaughton and Joseph Warbrick) were killed after ignoring repeated instructions from guide Alfred Warbrick (brother of Joseph) to return to a safe distance, after venturing dangerously close to the edge of the geyser. All four were swept away in a sudden violent eruption.
External links
- Steam Clouds, Waimangu Geyser, New Zealand picture, State Library of Victoria
- Waimangu geyser: the world’s largest, 'Hot springs, mud pools and geysers', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 5 November 2007.
- Images of the Waimangu Geyser from the Alexander Turnbull Library's Unpublished Collections